Intelligent user interaction experience for mobile computing devices

ABSTRACT

A system for assessing a user interaction experience of content displayed on a mobile device, implemented by a computing processor, receives an indication of content to be displayed on the mobile device. The indication is received in response to a user attempting to access the content. The system analyzes the content to assess the user interaction experience of the content to be displayed on the mobile device. The analysis is based at least on the mobile device on which the content is to be displayed. The user interaction experience is comprised of the viewing quality of the content to be displayed on the mobile device, and/or a feasibility of user interaction with the content. Based on the user interaction experience, the system presents, on the mobile device on which the content is to be displayed, an indication of the user interaction experience and the indication of the content to be displayed on the mobile device.

BACKGROUND

Mobile devices are used to access different types of content, such asemails and websites. Some emails and websites are easily viewed onmobile devices, smart phones, tablets, etc. Other content, such as largeemails, emails with attachments, websites with large diagrams, formsthat require input data, social media websites, etc., may be difficultto view on a mobile device. Therefore, it would be beneficial for usersto receive a recommendation that assesses the user's experienceinteracting with the content, prior to accessing the content, allowingthe user to decide whether to continue to access the content.

SUMMARY

According to an embodiment disclosed herein, in a method for identifyingviewing quality of content displayed on a mobile device, the methodreceives an indication of content to be displayed on the mobile device,where the indication is received in response to a user attempting toaccess the content on the mobile device. The method analyzes the contentto assess the user interaction experience of the content to be displayedon the mobile device. The analysis is based at least on the mobiledevice on which the content is to be displayed. The user interactionexperience is comprised of at least one of the viewing quality of thecontent to be displayed on the mobile device, and a feasibility of userinteraction with the content. Based on the user interaction experience,the method presents on the mobile device on which the content is to bedisplayed, an indication of the user interaction experience and theindication of the content to be displayed on the mobile device. Themethod allows the user to determine whether to access the content. Themethod detects an action by the user, wherein the action indicateswhether the user accessed the content. Based on the action by the user,the method learns user preferences associated with viewing the contenton the mobile device, and incorporates the user preferences into theanalysis of the content.

System and computer program products corresponding to theabove-summarized methods are also described and claimed herein.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates an embodiment of a system for assessing a userinteraction experience of content displayed on a mobile device,according to embodiments disclosed herein.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating an embodiment of a method forassessing the user interaction experience of content displayed on amobile device, according to embodiments disclosed herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present invention may be a system, a method, and/or a computerprogram product. The computer program product may include a computerreadable storage medium (or media) having computer readable programinstructions thereon for causing a processor to carry out aspects of thepresent invention.

The computer readable storage medium can be a tangible device that canretain and store instructions for use by an instruction executiondevice. The computer readable storage medium may be, for example, but isnot limited to, an electronic storage device, a magnetic storage device,an optical storage device, an electromagnetic storage device, asemiconductor storage device, or any suitable combination of theforegoing. A non-exhaustive list of more specific examples of thecomputer readable storage medium includes the following: a portablecomputer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), aread-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROMor Flash memory), a static random access memory (SRAM), a portablecompact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), a digital versatile disk (DVD),a memory stick, a floppy disk, a mechanically encoded device such aspunch-cards or raised structures in a groove having instructionsrecorded thereon, and any suitable combination of the foregoing. Acomputer readable storage medium, as used herein, is not to be construedas being transitory signals per se, such as radio waves or other freelypropagating electromagnetic waves, electromagnetic waves propagatingthrough a waveguide or other transmission media (e.g., light pulsespassing through a fiber-optic cable), or electrical signals transmittedthrough a wire.

Computer readable program instructions described herein can bedownloaded to respective computing/processing devices from a computerreadable storage medium or to an external computer or external storagedevice via a network, for example, the Internet, a local area network, awide area network and/or a wireless network. The network may comprisecopper transmission cables, optical transmission fibers, wirelesstransmission, routers, firewalls, switches, gateway computers and/oredge servers. A network adapter card or network interface in eachcomputing/processing device receives computer readable programinstructions from the network and forwards the computer readable programinstructions for storage in a computer readable storage medium withinthe respective computing/processing device.

Computer readable program instructions for carrying out operations ofthe present invention may be assembler instructions,instruction-set-architecture (ISA) instructions, machine instructions,machine dependent instructions, microcode, firmware instructions,state-setting data, or either source code or object code written in anycombination of one or more programming languages, including an objectoriented programming language such as Smalltalk, C++ or the like, andconventional procedural programming languages, such as the “C”programming language or similar programming languages. The computerreadable program instructions may execute entirely on the user'scomputer, partly on the user's computer, as a stand-alone softwarepackage, partly on the user's computer and partly on a remote computeror entirely on the remote computer or server. In the latter scenario,the remote computer may be connected to the user's computer through anytype of network, including a local area network (LAN) or a wide areanetwork (WAN), or the connection may be made to an external computer(for example, through the Internet using an Internet Service Provider).In some embodiments, electronic circuitry including, for example,programmable logic circuitry, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGA), orprogrammable logic arrays (PLA) may execute the computer readableprogram instructions by utilizing state information of the computerreadable program instructions to personalize the electronic circuitry,in order to perform aspects of the present invention.

Aspects of the present invention are described herein with reference toflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus(systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of theinvention. It will be understood that each block of the flowchartillustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in theflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented bycomputer readable program instructions.

These computer readable program instructions may be provided to aprocessor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, orother programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, suchthat the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computeror other programmable data processing apparatus, create means forimplementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks. These computer readable program instructionsmay also be stored in a computer readable storage medium that can directa computer, a programmable data processing apparatus, and/or otherdevices to function in a particular manner, such that the computerreadable storage medium having instructions stored therein comprises anarticle of manufacture including instructions which implement aspects ofthe function/act specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram blockor blocks.

The computer readable program instructions may also be loaded onto acomputer, other programmable data processing apparatus, or other deviceto cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer,other programmable apparatus or other device to produce a computerimplemented process, such that the instructions which execute on thecomputer, other programmable apparatus, or other device implement thefunctions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block orblocks.

The flowchart and block diagrams in the Figures illustrate thearchitecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementationsof systems, methods, and computer program products according to variousembodiments of the present invention. In this regard, each block in theflowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portionof instructions, which comprises one or more executable instructions forimplementing the specified logical function(s). In some alternativeimplementations, the functions noted in the block may occur out of theorder noted in the figures. For example, two blocks shown in successionmay, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks maysometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon thefunctionality involved. It will also be noted that each block of theblock diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, and combinations of blocksin the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, can be implementedby special purpose hardware-based systems that perform the specifiedfunctions or acts or carry out combinations of special purpose hardwareand computer instructions.

FIG. 1 illustrates a system for assessing a user interaction experienceof content displayed on a mobile device, according to embodiments of thepresent invention. The computer system 100 is operationally coupled to aprocessor or processing units 106, a memory 101, and a bus 109 thatcouples various system components, including the memory 101 to theprocessor 106. The bus 109 represents one or more of any of severaltypes of bus structure, including a memory bus or memory controller, aperipheral bus, an accelerated graphics port, and a processor or localbus using any of a variety of bus architectures. The memory 101 mayinclude computer readable media in the form of volatile memory, such asrandom access memory (RAM) 102 or cache memory 103, or non-volatilestorage media 104. The memory 101 may include at least one programproduct having a set of at least one program code module 105 that areconfigured to carry out the functions of embodiment of the presentinvention when executed by the processor 106. The computer system 100may also communicate with one or more external devices 111, such as adisplay 110, via I/0 interfaces 107. The computer system 100 maycommunicate with one or more networks via network adapter 108. Thecomputer system 100 may communicate with one or more databases 112 vianetwork adapter 108.

FIG. 2 illustrates an embodiment of a method for assessing a userinteraction experience of content displayed on a mobile device. At 200,the method, via the computing processor 106, receives an indication ofcontent to be displayed on the mobile device, where the indication isreceived in response to a user attempting to access the content on themobile device. For example, a user may receive an indication of incomingemail, try to access email, try to access a web page, open a file,download an application, or access an application using a mobile device.

At 201, the method analyzes the content to assess the user interactionexperience of the content to be displayed on the mobile device. The userinteraction experience is comprised of at least one of the viewingquality of the content to be displayed on the mobile device and afeasibility of user interaction with the content. The analysis is basedat least on the mobile device on which the content is to be displayed.The method assists the user in determining whether to access content onthat particular mobile device. For example, when a user attempts toaccess email or a web page on their mobile device, the method analyzesthat email or web page to assess whether the user will have a goodexperience viewing that email or web page on that particular mobiledevice. The user's experience is based on at least the viewing qualityof that email or web page on that mobile device and/or whether the userwill be able to interact with the email or web page on that mobiledevice. The user's experience interacting with the email or website maybe frustrating, due to the viewing quality of the content, or thefeasibility of the user interacting with the content. For example, along email that will require the user to scroll through several pages,and display only a few lines at a time on the screen may result in afrustrating experience. An email with a large attachment may bedifficult to view on a mobile device. A user may also become frustratedif the user can only view a portion of an image on a screen, or if auser tries to fill out a form on a web page. Radio buttons on a web pagemay also be difficult to select on a mobile device. In another exampleembodiment, the method may user text analysis to analyze the content.For example, content that contains code may be difficult to view on amobile device, or content that requires concentration to may beinadvisable to view when a user is in motion, or traveling. In yetanother example embodiment, the method may take into account theusability of a mobile device, in addition to the user interactionexperience of the content, when a user attempts to download and/oraccess an application on the mobile device.

At 202, based on the user interaction experience, the method presents,on the mobile device on which the content is to be displayed, anindication of the user interaction experience and the indication of thecontent to be displayed on the mobile device. For example, if a userattempts to access an email, the method provides an indication of theviewing quality of that email, along with an indication that the emailis available for the user. In an example embodiment, the method maypresent two indications assessing an email and the email's attachmentseparately, or the method may present an indication that represents anaggregated assessment of the email and the email's attachment.

At 203, the method allows the user to determine whether to access thecontent. The method may present a recommendation, for example, that anemail is too large to easily view on a mobile device. The method allowsthe user to determine whether to not to access that email. In otherwords, the user may override the assessment of the user interactionexperience.

At 204, the method detects an action by the user, where the actionindicates whether the user accessed the content. In an exampleembodiment, when the user attempts to access content on a mobile device,the method analyzes the content to determine the user interactionexperience, and provides the user with an assessment of that userinteraction experience. The user may choose whether to access thecontent. If the user accesses the content, the method detects thataction by the user.

At 205, based on the action by the user, the method learns userpreferences associated with viewing the content on the mobile device. Inan example embodiment, based on the user's decision whether to accessthe content after the method provides the user interaction experience,the method learns the users preferences. The method may learn the userpreferences based on, for example, how quickly a user exits an email,web page or application, or based on how long the user view and/orinteracts with the content. For example, a user might use their tabletwhen they are not home. The user may choose not to access large emailswhen using their tablet to avoid using their cell data plan even thoughthe method may provide a positive user interaction experience assessmentfor large emails on that particular mobile device. When the user choosesnot to access the content despite a positive user interaction experienceassessment, the method learns the users preferences (in this case, thatthe user chooses not to access large emails when using a cell dataplan). In another example embodiment, the method may take into accountthe usability of a mobile device, in addition to the user interactionexperience of the content and user preferences, when a user attempts todownload and/or access an application on the mobile device. In yetanother example embodiment, the method may provide the user with theability to provide the user interaction experience assessment. Forexample, the user might mark an email as “not viewable” to assist themethod in analyzing the content, and/or in learning user preferences

At 206, the method incorporates the user preferences into the analysisof the content. For example, referring to the previous example at 205,the method learns the user preferences, and incorporates the userpreferences into the assessment. Here, despite the positive userinteraction experience assessment for a large email on a tablet, themethod incorporates the user preferences into the assessment andprovides an assessment recommending the user not access the large emailon the tablet. The user may choose whether or not to access the largeemail, regardless of the user interaction experience assessment.

In an example embodiment, when the method incorporates the userpreferences into the analysis of the content, the method iterativelyincorporates the action by the user into the analysis of the content.The method refines the assessment of the user interaction experience asthe user continues to interact with the assessments and the mobiledevice. In other words, the method learns the user's behavior over time.For example, if a user repeatedly closes out of a form that requiresinput, the method determines that the user does not want to view formcontent on the mobile device. The method may make this determinationafter the user closes out of the form a specific number of times. Themethod may also make this determination based on the user's behaviorwith regard to long emails, emails with attachments, web pages that haveinput controls, such as radio buttons, etc. For example, the method maydetermine that the user avoids input fields, but not radio buttons,etc., and incorporates those user preferences into the assessment of theuser interaction experience.

In an example embodiment, when the method analyzes the content to assessthe user interaction experience of the content to be displayed on themobile device, the method obtains user preferences, specified by theuser, where the user preferences are incorporated into the analysis ofthe content. The method may learn the user preferences through theuser's actions, and the user may also specify the user preferences. Inan example embodiment, the user may input their preferences. The usermay specify that he/she does not wish to fill out forms on the mobiledevice, view web pages that contain radio buttons, view content thatrequires scrolling the screen more than a specified number of times,view emails over a specified size, and/or view attachments over aspecified size, for example. The user may specify whether he/she desiresthe option of choosing to download emails with attachments, or to benotified that an email has an associated attachment (that was notdownloaded on the mobile device). In another example embodiment, themethod may assess the user interaction experience as a percentage, forexample, the user interaction experience may be 80%. The user mayspecify that he/she does not wish to view content that is below, forexample an assessment of 85%.

In an example embodiment, when the method obtains the user preferences,the method obtains a threshold set by the user, wherein the thresholdindicates, based on the user interaction experience of the content,whether the user will access the content on the mobile device. Forexample, a user may decide not to access content on the mobile device ifan email is larger than a particular size, if the email has anattachment, if a web page has input fields or radio buttons, etc. Theuser may specify what that threshold is.

In an example embodiment, when, based on the user interactionexperience, the method presents on the mobile device on which thecontent is to be displayed, the indication of the user interactionexperience and the indication of the content to be displayed, the methodpresents the indication of the user interaction experience of thecontent as at least one of a Boolean value, a percentage value, and agraphic representing a user interaction experience value or indicator.For example, when a user attempts to access an email, the method mayrender a Boolean value next to the email (such as “recommended” or “notrecommended”), a percentage value that indicates the user interactionexperience assessment, or a graphic, such as a pie chart indicating theuser interaction experience assessment. In an example embodiment, thegraphic may be a symbol that is color-coded based on the assessment ofthe user interaction experience. Or, the content itself (for exampleindividual emails) may be color-coded based on the user interactionexperience assessment. In yet another example embodiment, based on theassessment of the user interaction experience, the method may arrangecontent, such as sorting a list of emails based on the assessment. Thoseemails that received a negative user interaction experience assessmentmay be displayed at the bottom of the email list.

In an example embodiment, when, based on the user interactionexperience, the method presents on the mobile device on which thecontent is to be displayed, the indication of the user interactionexperience and the indication of the content to be displayed, the methoddetermines that the content to be displayed is comprised of a pluralityof sub content. For each of the sub content, the method analyzes the subcontent to assess the user interaction experience of the sub contentwhen displayed on the mobile device, where the analysis is based atleast on the mobile device on which the sub content is to be displayed.Then, based on the user interaction experience, the method presents, onthe mobile device on which the sub content is to be displayed, theindication of the user interaction experience of the sub content and theindication of the sub content to be displayed on the mobile device. Forexample, if a web page has several input controls, such as input fields,radio buttons, etc., the method analyzes each element and provides anassessment for the user interaction experience. In an exampleembodiment, the method assesses the user interaction experience foractivity streams, for example, on a social media website. The method mayprovide the user interaction experience assessment for each activity inthe activity stream, or for the whole activity stream. The method mayprovide a user interaction experience assessment on the web page itself,or as an overlay, or the user interaction experience assessment may be aplugin for the browser.

In an example embodiment, when the method presents on the mobile deviceon which the content is to be displayed, the indication of the userinteraction experience assessment and the indication of the content tobe displayed, the method determines, based on at least one of the userinteraction experience and user preferences, that the content will notbe presented on the mobile device. Based on the assessment of the userinteraction experience and/or the user preferences, the method maydecide not to display the content to the user. The method may display anemail on the mobile device, but not display the attachment associatedwith that email. In another example embodiment, the method may notdisplay both the email and the attachment (based on the user interactionexperience and/or user preferences of the email and/or the attachment).

The descriptions of the various embodiments of the present invention hasbeen presented for purposes of illustration, but are not intended to beexhaustive or limited to the embodiments disclosed. Many modificationsand variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the artwithout departing from the scope and spirit of the describedembodiments. The terminology used herein was chosen to best explain theprinciples of the embodiments, the practical application or technicalimprovement over technologies found in the marketplace, or to enableothers of ordinary skill in the art to understand the embodimentsdisclosed herein.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for assessing a user interactionexperience of content displayed on a mobile device, the methodcomprising: receiving an indication of content to be displayed on themobile device, wherein the indication is received in response to a userattempting to access the content on the mobile device; analyzing thecontent to assess the user interaction experience of the content to bedisplayed on the mobile device, wherein the analysis is based at leaston the mobile device on which the content is to be displayed, whereinthe user interaction experience is comprised of at least one of theviewing quality of the content to be displayed on the mobile device anda feasibility of user interaction with the content; and based on theuser interaction experience, presenting on the mobile device on whichthe content is to be displayed, an indication of the user interactionexperience and the indication of the content to be displayed on themobile device.
 2. The method of claim 1 further comprising: allowing theuser to determine whether to access the content.
 3. The method of claim2 further comprising: detecting an action by the user, wherein theaction indicates whether the user accessed the content; based on theaction by the user, learning user preferences associated with viewingthe content on the mobile device; and incorporating the user preferencesinto the analysis of the content.
 4. The method of claim 3 whereinincorporating the user preferences into the analysis of the contentcomprises: iteratively incorporating the action by the user into theanalysis of the content.
 5. The method of claim 1 wherein analyzing thecontent to assess the user interaction experience of the content to bedisplayed on the mobile device comprises: obtaining user preferences,specified by the user, wherein the user preferences are incorporatedinto the analysis of the content.
 6. The method of claim 5 whereinobtaining the user preferences, specified by the user comprises:obtaining a threshold set by the user, wherein the threshold indicates,based on the user interaction experience of the content, whether theuser will access the content on the mobile device.
 7. The method ofclaim 1 wherein based on the user interaction experience, presenting onthe mobile device on which the content is to be displayed, theindication of the user interaction experience and the indication of thecontent to be displayed on the mobile device comprises: presenting theindication of the user interaction experience of the content as at leastone of: i) a Boolean value; ii) a percentage value; and iii) a graphicrepresenting a user interaction experience value.
 8. The method of claim1 wherein based on the user interaction experience, presenting on themobile device on which the content is to be displayed, the indication ofthe user interaction experience and the indication of the content to bedisplayed on the mobile device comprises: determining that the contentto be displayed is comprised of a plurality of sub content; and for eachof the sub content: analyzing the sub content to assess the userinteraction experience of the sub content when displayed on the mobiledevice, wherein the analysis is based at least on the mobile device onwhich the sub content is to be displayed; and based on the userinteraction experience, presenting, on the mobile device on which thesub content is to be displayed, the indication of the user interactionexperience of the sub content and the indication of the sub content tobe displayed on the mobile device.
 9. The method of claim 1 whereinbased on the user interaction experience, presenting on the mobiledevice on which the content is to be displayed, the indication of theuser interaction experience and the indication of the content to bedisplayed on the mobile device comprises: determining, based on at leastone of the user interaction experience and user preferences, that thecontent will not be presented on the mobile device.